Private university leaders warn proposed policy changes could jeopardise students’ future

Leaders from Bangladesh's private universities, along with faculty representatives and members of boards of trustees, have expressed serious concern over proposed policy changes that they say could place the future of students at risk.

At an emergency joint meeting in Dhaka, representatives from 85 private universities reviewed draft amendments to the Private Universities Act 2010 proposed by the University Grants Commission, alongside existing regulatory challenges. The participants unanimously agreed that the proposed framework requires reconsideration to ensure fairness, sustainability and the protection of students' interests.

They said private university students currently bear the full cost of tuition, along with VAT and other financial burdens, while receiving no access to government-backed scholarships, student loans or adequate research funding. They also highlighted prolonged delays in approving internationally relevant academic programmes, stagnation in research and PhD approvals, limited industry–academia collaboration and insufficient support for graduates seeking global employment opportunities.

The meeting described the situation as inequitable and harmful to national human resource development, noting that private universities operate without government grants, land allocation or financial subsidies. Despite this, they said the sector plays a major role in expanding access to higher education, creating employment and strengthening the knowledge economy, serving more than four lakh students nationwide.

Participants stressed that private universities do not seek confrontation, but said they cannot remain silent when the interests of hundreds of thousands of students are at stake. They called for constructive engagement, immediate policy correction and reforms centred on students, urging authorities to move away from what they described as an overly control-driven approach.

The representatives reaffirmed their willingness to work with the Ministry of Education, the University Grants Commission and other relevant authorities to safeguard students' rights, strengthen private higher education and maintain Bangladesh's academic competitiveness at national and global levels.